Chapter 34: Bracelet or Brooch

"Can I touch it?" a palace maid asked, looking at my brooch in awe, as if it was a rare artifact rather than a simple accessory. I was in the pantry with 19, grabbing a quick breakfast before heading to Madame Leone's office to check our chores for the day. And as usual, the room was full of servants all wanting to have a good meal before starting work. What was weird was the question I had just been asked.

But ever since the public execution about a week ago, I had gotten random comments like that, mostly from other servants who had barely acknowledged my existence before. When news spread in the imperial palace that both the emperor and the archduke were protecting me, it was as if many people had undergone a sudden personality transplant, treating me with a lot more courtesy than they'd ever done – and also being a tad more curious.

Before I could reply, 19 butted in. "What, you've never seen a brooch before?" she asked irritably, making a shooing motion with her hand. Of course that was a rhetorical question. The imperial palace was brimming with all sorts of jewels and accessories from the royals and nobilities who either lived there or who frequented the place. And since palace maids were sometimes required to attend to the ruling class, there was no way she couldn't have seen a brooch in the recent past.

The palace maid huffed and left us, and 19 turned to me. "You're far too nice, do you know that?" she said with a shake of her head.

'I was about to tell her no,' I replied, grinning.

"You didn't do it fast enough," she retorted as she stood up and pulled me alongside her. "You need to learn how to set your boundaries." At the mention of boundaries, I sighed and nodded. It had always been hard for me to say no to other people.

That was the reason I always took on more work in Seoul than I actually needed to, because I couldn't say no to my boss – even when the demand was unreasonable, which was the case more often than not. Of course, in Korea's strict work culture, a mere secretary standing up to her superior was the equivalent of her sentencing herself to corporate suicide. Even in Luxentfort, I would always keep my head down and reply only when spoken to, with the exception of very few people.

"Well, your lack of boundaries doesn't seem to apply to the archduke," she continued cheekily.

'What do you mean?' I asked in confusion.

"Do you really have no idea how you interact with the archduke?" she scoffed in disbelief. "You talk to him like he's just a normal guy."

I nodded readily. That was certainly true. I had always been at ease with Caio, ever since our first meeting when he had rescued me at the battlefield.

"But he's not a mere commoner, is he?" 19 said, her hands moving animatedly. "He's the second most important person in the empire." Just remembering how the archduke ran out of the palace to find 20 had all the making of a dreamlike fantasy for her – such daring, such bold determination. And she couldn't even find a man who would open the door for her. She inwardly sighed in resignation. Life was so unfair sometimes.

'I really don't see him that way,' I admitted. Caio was the first person who had ever shown me kindness in the empire. Knowing him made me miss my family a bit less, because it felt like I had found an adoptive older brother – protective and caring at the same time.

"That's exactly my point," 19 replied. "And what about His Majesty, huh?" She hadn't seen yet 20 with the emperor, but he did send two men to their deaths because of her. That alone spoke volumes.

'What about him?' I asked, perplexed.

"I bet you also don't see him as the ruling monarch of Luxentfort," 19 answered with conviction, as though she had the wisdom of the ages.

'Actually, I do,' I corrected her with a broad smile. Just being in his room was more than enough to remind me of the huge difference in our social status and ranks. Also, I had only learned of his identity quite recently, so I was still getting used to it. And perhaps what clinched it all was his habit of saying things that made me embarrassed, that's why I wasn't as comfortable with him as I was with Caio. Like that evening during our talk, he suddenly brought up the topic of the brooch.

"I heard Caio also gave you a brooch," Alessandro said as he paced his room. "Is that true?" He tried to make his tone casual and diplomatic, and he winced when it came off as quite sullen.

'Don't ask me a question you already know the answer to,' I sighed as I relaxed in bed. I had spent majority of the afternoon washing dirty sheets, and my back was killing me.

"Why did you accept it?" Alessandro insisted, abandoning his resolve to appear detached.

'Why shouldn't I?' I asked, not getting the point he was driving at. Caio gave me a gift, of course I accepted it. I didn't understand what the big deal was.

"I already gave you the bracelet," Alessandro sulked. "Isn't that enough?"

I laughed, totally amused that he was being petty about this. 'You and Caio gave me gifts and I accepted both. What's your point?'

"Well, who do you like better?" Alessandro demanded. He was aghast at Caio's audacity to give her a brooch when he knew that Alessandro had already given her a bracelet. It was as if his closest friend didn't completely trust that he could protect 20 with the emperor's insignia alone so he felt the need to add his own, and the notion struck a sore nerve.

'What?' I asked, at a loss at the sudden turn in the conversation.

Alessandro cleared his throat and mentally cursed himself. He didn't mean to be that direct. He wasn't ready yet to hear her answer – what if she easily chose Caio over him? "I mean, which one do you like more: the bracelet or the brooch?"